WrestleMania 2000
by frostyfreezyfreeze54
Summary: The sixteenth edition of The Grandest Stage of Them All emanates live from Anaheim, California. All three world titles, a WWE career, and a legendary streak are all on the line. This is the glory, the grandeur, the magnificence...that is WrestleMania.
1. The Ascension of HBK

WrestleMania 2000

The night after No Way Out on RAW, it was hyped up that Edge would close the show with an address to the WWE Universe. The originally scheduled main event would instead be held at the end of the first hour. Edge cut a 20-minute promo where he blasted CEO Vince McMahon and company management, calling them "puppeteers pulling the strings of wrestlers they don't like." The fans, for the most part, were agreeing with The Rated-R Superstar. Vince then came out, pissed off beyond compare. Vince said that Edge is a son of a bitch that has no right attacking the way he or management does things. Edge accused Vince of conspiring with John Cena, RAW General Manager Jonathan Coachman, RAW Senior Referee Mike Chioda, and the WWE Board of Directors for screwing him out of the WWE Championship. Vince told Edge, "Enough's enough! You want to act like a brat out of Hell, go do it somewhere else! EDGE...YOU'RE….." Edge stopped Vince and slapped his mic out of his hand. "I know the same old song and dance. You've taken down hundreds of Superstars with that annoying catchphrase, but not me. If I'm gonna leave this company, I'm doing it on my own terms. Vincent Kennedy McMahon….I QUIT!" The fans booed in displeasure as Edge hit the Edgecution on McMahon. He waited for the WWE CEO to get up (now staggering) and easily hit him with the Spear. The WWE Universe chanted Edge's name as he told Vince, "Mark my words, Vinnie Mac. You'll NEVER see Edge in a WWE ring….AGAIN!"

This was a worked shoot, according to Kevin Eck's Ring Posts. After the events of No Way Out (where Edge was eliminated first in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match) Edge stormed into Vince's office and threatened to sue him for talent mismanagement. Apparently, Edge and Vince never agreed on him being the first eliminated, or even that early. Vince then told Edge to clean up and if he wanted to attack Randy Orton for eliminating him, he could do exactly that. Chioda informed Orton of his impending elimination, and also informed Cena, The Undertaker, and the other three RAW refs (Chad Patton, Jack Doan, and John Cone) so as to avoid confusion. Once Edge told Vince of his plan, it was forwarded to everyone else. Of course, this took place off-camera so the viewers watching on PPV were oblivious to what was happening. Unfortunately, the poor cameraman wasn't informed. Edge and Vince had a long conversation over coffee about Edge's contract, and Edge admitted he doesn't have the will to wrestle anymore, at least for a while. McMahon decided to give Edge time off to address any injuries or burnouts related to wrestling, and whenever he returned, the contract extension originally anticipated for him would still be around.

Edge broke most of the silence about his contract status in a phone interview with Eck two days later, not in character. When asked if the promo on RAW was a reflection of the way he viewed his treatment in the company, Edge stated: "Yes, the promo did address some issues I had with Vince and the WWE as a whole. But I wasn't blasting the company in any way. Vince and I went over every detail hours before RAW and I wasn't around the other Superstars for most of the day, which weirded them out since I'm not a locker room loner for the most part. I think he took that attack like a true sport (laughs)." When asked if he was done with wrestling, Edge clarified: "I don't see myself wrestling for a while. I'm definitely not finished with it because it's what I've always wanted to do. But recently, that spark has disappeared. At the Royal Rumble, when Cena won the title (WWE Championship), I was relieved. I really didn't think I'd make it to WrestleMania like that (laughs). But I'm proud of everything I've achieved in the WWE so far. I'm already a two-time world champion, a two-time WWE Champion at that, beaten Hulk Hogan, and got to headline WrestleMania last year. When I do come back, I'll be refreshed and ready to take on everybody again. But mark my words, Kev: Next year, at WrestleMania 17, you'll see me in the main event. Not A main event, THE main event. That's my next goal. And I can't wait to shoot for it."

I needed to get that out of the way. Now, the REAL story begins.

The night after No Way Out, RAW kicked off with General Manager Jonathan Coachman. The Coach called out 2000 Royal Rumble winner Shawn Michaels. Michaels laid out Cena with Sweet Chin Music right after he had defended the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. And HBK stunned the wrestling universe by saying that Coachman named him the new #1 contender for the title, and that the match would take place at WrestleMania. Coachman called Michaels a liar and that there was no match with Cena ever arranged. Coachman also told Michaels that listening to Batista was a stupid idea and he deserves to not even compete on April 2. That's when Cena arrived. He told Coachman that Michaels is now in WWE Championship contention like everyone else, and should be treated as such. The RAW GM agreed and booked a blockbuster main event match for the night. It'll be Michaels, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Shane McMahon, and The Undertaker in a Six-Pack Elimination Challenge. The winner would earn the right to face Cena at WrestleMania 2000 for the richest prize in sports-entertainment. However, Edge backed out because he wanted to close the show with a public address. Because of that, the main event was moved to the end of the first hour, and it became a Scramble Match. In a Scramble Match, two men kick it off. And every five minutes, another Superstar enters the match. It lasts twenty minutes, and only five men can compete in the Scramble. When a Superstar is pinned or made to submit, the Superstar who scored the decision is made the unofficial winner. After the twenty minutes are up, the Superstar with the last pinfall/submission is declared the official winner.

Triple H and Undertaker got things going. McMahon came after five minutes, Orton after ten, and Michaels after fifteen. Each man scored at least one decision. With 0:20 left on the clock, and Orton having gotten the last pinfall/submission, Undertaker attempted a Tombstone Piledriver on Triple H. But The Game countered, hit the Pedigree, and pinned The Deadman to become the interim winner. It looked like it would be best friends going up against each other for the strap on April 2. But Michaels wouldn't let that happen, as he struck Triple H with Sweet Chin Music and pinned him with 0:02 left. The timer sounded, the bell rang, and Shawn Michaels was headed to Anaheim. Entering the Royal Rumble at #1, breaking the record for longest time spent in the ring, and winning. Taking Batista's shady advice and cashing in his guaranteed WrestleMania title shot at No Way Out, yet failing to become World Heavyweight Champion. And now, beating four other guys and escaping with the victory. This has been HBK's long, exhausting road to the big dance. Triple H had his head down the whole time as he slowly walked to the back. As RAW play-by-play announcer Jim Ross pointed out, "close but no cigar" has defined the past month for The King of Kings. Cena marched down the ramp and stared down Michaels. These two would lock horns in 33 days.

Wrestling pundits and critics were split on who would win. If Cena retained, it would strengthen his title reign having beaten the Royal Rumble winner. Plus, Michaels could turn heel after the match. However, if HBK won the belt, it would be a present from the WWE for nine years of putting his body on the line. HBK, along with The Undertaker, are the last outlaws on the roster. They've been around since the Attitude Era, and they're the only ones who can truly tell you how to succeed. The WWE even knows that Michaels has worked his ass off. That's why they named him the best performer never to win a world championship at the end of 1999. HBK's promos leading up to 'Mania consisted of frustration over never getting the big one, and that while he respects Cena, and even likes him to some degree, he needs to understand that his time is up on April 2. Cena responded by claiming that he doesn't put on his dog tags, Reebok pumps, and salute to the crowd/the U.S. military every night just to fail. Cena said WrestleMania means everything to him. He works harder on that day than any other, and leaves everything in the ring. The WWE Champion called The Grandest Stage of Them All his favorite event, and that it won't matter if Michaels steals the show again, he won't walk away with the gold at the end of the night.

The feud between these two was getting personal, and it only got worse at the contract signing six days before WrestleMania. Michaels stated that he respected Cena's story, even admired it. A man who simply came into the business as a fan of it all. Not in it for the money or the publicity, but to become a legend and a respected individual. HBK went on to point out that nobody on the roster has Cena's drive, determination, company pride, will, passion, or resilience. Except for Michaels himself. HBK said that when he struts to the ring with his cowboy hat and prays to God, he has the energy of the WWE Universe with him. Unlike Cena, who will never be respected enough to even get the "Let's go Cena! Cena sucks!" chants to stop.

"This T-shirt that I've been wearing for the past eight months represents what I'm about. Hustle, loyalty, respect. That isn't a catchphrase or a marketing ploy, that is my LIFE! When my music plays and I run down the aisle, I only think of the Cenation. I only think about the people that support me and root for me with pride, not the people who don't understand what I do. Shawn Michaels, you need these people in your life, because they give you confidence. And because you've stepped on people in the past, you need the WWE Universe to give you strength. And yes, they're my strength too, but they're not the only strength. And it doesn't matter if they're telling me 'let's go' or I suck, they're expressing their opinion because they're THE DAMN UNIVERSE! Whatever you say or do, Shawn, it won't matter. Because I'm concerned about those 144 hours remaining and those 144 hours only. I'm not concerned about beating you. Because I can, and I will."

Michaels stood up and went for Sweet Chin Music, but Cena ducked and went for an FU on the signing table. But Michaels exited stage left and mocked the WWE Champion with the D-Generation-X chop. Cena did the "you can't see me" and mocked Michaels by flexing his elbows. At WrestleMania 2000, it'll be John Cena defending the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels. Will Cena overcome yet another challenge and affirm his status to HBK as the #1 guy? Or will Michaels walk away with his first-ever world championship and prove to the West Newbury native his time is now?


	2. A Giant Trades His Colors

Five days after No Way Out, new World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam kicked off SmackDown! feeling great. He walked into the Elimination Chamber, survived five of the blue brand's best, and walked out of Satan's Structure with the Big Gold Belt. RVD told the WWE Universe that he can not begin to express how he feels about having a title around his waist again. Van Dam said that his New Year's resolution was to become a champion, no matter what title it is. The Battle Creek native said he just wanted to look forward to that trip into the airport metal detectors and the security guard says, "Whoa! Look at the size of THAT thing!" Van Dam also had a little promise for all the "Van Assassinators" out there: He WILL walk out of WrestleMania 2000 with the World Heavyweight Championship. Suddenly, glass shattered and the arena came unglued. It was SmackDown! General Manager "Stone Cold" Steve Austin! The Texas Rattlesnake had some news for RVD. Big Show, the man who lost his World Title at No Way Out, will invoke his rematch clause on April 2. Also, the World Heavyweight Champion will team up with his 'Mania opponent later that night against "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Batista. The match was even-sided for the most part, until Piper made a crucial mistake by hitting Show in the back with a steel chair while referee Charles Robinson was down. The World's Largest Athlete chokeslammed The Hot Rod, then teamed up with Van Dam for the two-man finisher. A KO Punch to Batista followed up by a Five-Star Frog Splash for the victory. As the two were celebrating, Big Show stunned the world by hitting Van Dam with the KO Punch and simply leaving. "What the...Big Show has left this crowd speechless!," said SmackDown! play-by-play announcer Michael Cole. He really did.

The next week, Big Show started things up in a suit and tie, being forced to hear the boos from the WWE Universe rain down on him. Although the 441-pound giant showed remorse at first, he eventually snapped and said RVD had it coming. Show stated that he was supposed to walk into WrestleMania as the World Heavyweight Champion. HE was supposed to be the one finding out his opponent. And HE was supposed to win the Elimination Chamber, not Van Dam. As the crowd jeered some more, The World's Largest Athlete admired his right hand. The same right hand that has been serving up knuckle sandwiches for the past five years, including one that was fed to RVD seven days ago. Show said that his knockout punch is a weapon of mass destruction, and that he should be in jail for the strength of his fist. The Tampa native closed his statement by saying in 23 days, Van Dam will feel the weapon of mass destruction, and he'll never be the same again. Later that night, the World Heavyweight Champion faced Kane (who is still entitled to a championship match after WrestleMania) in a non-title match. "Crank It Up" by Brand New Sin played as soon as RVD nailed the Van Daminator and a Five-Star Frog Splash was coming. Van Dam attempted the Five-Star anyway, but The Big Red Monster avoided it. Kane then channeled his half-brother The Undertaker by using the Tombstone Piledriver to seal victory. After the match, Big Show waited for the World Heavyweight Champion to get up, then hit the W.M.D. (Weapon of Mass Destruction) on him for the second week in a row. Show then held up the Big Gold Belt while putting one boot on Van Dam's body.

Wrestling pundits and critics admired Big Show's heel turn, stating that he works much better in that position and looks more like a world champion now than when he held the title. The next week, Austin decided to have both Van Dam and Show confront each other-in the ring. To prevent a brawl, security was hired. Big Show came out first and took several jabs at RVD, calling him a "fluke champion" and the guy "who simply took what never belonged to him in the first place." The 441-pound giant demanded the Battle Creek native to come out and talk to him like a man, if he is a man. Van Dam's theme played, but nobody came through the curtain. The World Heavyweight Champion ran through the crowd, scaled the top rope, and took Show by surprise with a clothesline. Austin's request to maintain order failed, as the two WrestleMania opponents were going at it. Security did little, so did road agents. Eventually, Show speared Van Dam and went for the W.M.D. But RVD ducked and dropkicked the Tampa native. The Battle Creek native then locked in The Rings of Saturn again, which he has renamed the Van Crushinator. The show ended with several SmackDown! superstars trying to get Van Dam off a bleeding Big Show. The week afterwards, Van Dam faced United States Champion Chris Jericho in a highly-awaited Champion vs. Champion match. At one point, RVD missed Rolling Thunder and Y2J hit the Lionsault. Van Dam locked in the Van Crushinator on Jericho, and it was too much for the blue brand's #2 titleholder to overcome. After the match, Big Show revealed what he did to the World Heavyweight Champion's car-destroy it. An enraged Van Dam went to the parking lot and saw his damaged car. It was just another trap. The #1 contender destroyed RVD using the cars as his friends, and it was capped off with a chokeslam through the glass window of a Buick. Show slowly held up the WHC as Van Dam was motionless inside the Buick.

Two days before WrestleMania, SmackDown! was live/taped from WrestleMania Axxess at the Anaheim Convention Center. A video package aired for the RVD/Big Show title match, and Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler made their picks. Cole chose Van Dam, while Lawler predicted the World's Largest Athlete would win. Later that night, to end SmackDown!, RVD cut a promo. The World Heavyweight Champion talked about how much of a conman Big Show is, and that for a short time, he considered the giant his friend. Van Dam said that what the #1 contender has done to him the past couple weeks don't matter anymore, because the only thing that matters is 48. 48 hours until they finally go one-on-one. 48 hours until the irresistible force meets the immovable object. "AND 48 HOURS UNTIL I WHOOP YOUR ASS ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE CHAVEZ RAVINE! My name is Rob Van Dam, and I'm going to leave WrestleMania 2000 STILL your World Heavyweight Champion!" And that's how it ends. At WrestleMania 2000, an angry giant invokes his rematch clause against the man who supposedly "stole" the World Heavyweight Championship from him. Will Rob Van Dam prove he ain't no fluke and walk out of Arrowhead Pond having slayed the beast? Or will Big Show's new, heelish attitude prove to be the difference between a new champion and defeat?


	3. Midnight For Cinderella?

New ECW Champion Hardcore Holly opened up ECW backstage, stating that because he is the new top guy on the show, and he is guaranteed a main-event match at WrestleMania 2000, the time to celebrate is now. Later that night in the ring, Holly will host a party celebrating his brand-new hardware. The party had balloons and confetti rain down as Holly arrived with his barbed wire blood-stained gold. He had on a button-down black shirt, black tie, and a black suit. Basically, the ECW Champion was all-black for the night. Holly talked about the plane ride from Hartford to Norfolk, and how he was greeted by hundreds of fans when he stepped out of the plane. And he said he just had to soak in the fact that the most extreme prize in the WWE was truly his. But the icing on top of the cake was that Tommy Dreamer wasn't the champion anymore. That's when The Heart and Soul of ECW hit the ring to a chorus of cheers. Dreamer said to stop talking because the easy part of being a champion is winning; the hard part is defending. And in case Holly forgot, the former champion has a rematch clause that he can invoke at the next possible time. And Dreamer plans to invoke it at WrestleMania. Holly simply said that the Yonkers native won't win and then assaulted him. Holly then bashed Dreamer in the skull with the ECW Championship and said, "See you in 32 days, Tommy."

The next week, ECW play-by-play announcer Stevie Richards interviewed Holly about the brutal attack on Dreamer. The ECW Champion said that Dreamer lives in his own world and actually believes he can walk out of WrestleMania with the gold once again. Holly said that he is dominant and untouchable, and that The Heart and Soul of ECW should think twice the next time he tries to leave a mark on the champ. Eventually, Holly targeted Richards and said he deserves respect from someone as over-the-hill as Richards. Richards then slapped Holly and challenged him to a non-title match later that night. The ECW Champion accepted, and Joey Styles took over Richards' position in the commentary booth alongside Richards' best friend and color commentator Balls Mahoney. Richards went for a Stevie Kick, but Holly ducked it and hit an Alabama Slam. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Holly climbed to the top and went for a legdrop, but Richards moved out of the way and landed the Stevie Kick. ONE! TWO! THREE! After the match, Holly assaulted Richards until Mahoney came and attacked the ECW Champion. Holly low-blowed the Land of the Extreme's color commentator and started pounding on him. Suddenly, Dreamer came with a steel chair and took down the ECW Champion with it. Holly was able to escape the attack and ran away with his belt.

Throughout the next couple weeks, either two things would happen: Holly would taunt Dreamer, Dreamer would defend himself, and Holly would escape. Or Holly would end up standing tall over Dreamer's body. The last week before WrestleMania, the champion and challenger answered questions from a panel of some of the most hardcore grapplers in wrestling history: Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Tazz, and Abdullah the Butcher. Dreamer, for the most part, was threatened and at times seemed out of it. Holly, on the other hand, was confident throughout and would even take the time to polish his title. It all led to the question Tazz had for Dreamer: Why will he win on Sunday? "Because I actually care to be champion, and I'm more motivated standing here tonight than I've ever been in my entire life. These past couple weeks, that rat bastard has played the cat-and-mouse game. Well, that ends at WrestleMania. And trust me, Holly. It won't end on a countout. It won't end on a disqualification. It's going to end two ways: Either I beat you, or I whoop your ass so bad you won't get up. Because I spoke to Armando Estrada. And in five days, you put your ECW Championship on the line against me under Extreme rules." The crowd went bats*** for that. Holly's expression told the entire story. "Last year, Randy Orton and Triple H tore the house down with their Extreme Rules Match, and I plan to do exactly that. At WrestleMania, we get into the conversation for Match of the Year, I regain the ECW Championship, and you leave Anaheim in a pool of your own blood. And I'm glad you're in your gear because I wouldn't want to ruin your cheap-ass monkey suits by BEATING YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Suddenly, there were a whole bunch of "Tommy!" chants. Holly put his belt down and said, "I'm about to show you right now why I'm Hardcore Holly." Within minutes, the two were brawling and Dreamer got the upper hand. The Yonkers native hit the Dreamer Driver and threw Holly onto the outside. To make sure the ECW Champion didn't escape, Dreamer tied Holly to the announce table using jumper cables, and then nailed a vicious legdrop through the table. "Ladies and gentlemen, keep your kids away from the screen because in five days, there will be no remorse. There will be no regrets. But there will be blood and broken bones. ECW Champion Hardcore Holly and a rejuvenated Tommy Dreamer battle at WrestleMania in an Extreme Rules Match!," Richards said with excitement.

At The Grandest Stage of Them All, the Land of the Extreme once again showcases their brutality and hardcore way of life. And it will decide the fate of a certain barbed wire blood-stained championship belt. Will Hardcore Holly prove that he is the champion of the future and that Cinderella stories exist in wrestling too? Or will Tommy Dreamer go down in history as the man who administered the worst beatdown Orange County has ever seen?


	4. Streak vs Animal

At No Way Out, Batista was forced to submit by Rob Van Dam inside the Elimination Chamber. Because of that, he failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship. That same night, John Cena was too much for The Undertaker to overcome, and there was no new WWE Champion crowned inside Satan's Structure. The following night on RAW, Undertaker lost the Scramble Match to determine who would challenge Cena for the title at WrestleMania 2000. Four days later on SmackDown!, Batista came out and was pretty direct in his point: On April 2, he planned to make history. He planned to leave Arrowhead Pond a legend. At the end of the night, everyone would be talking about The Animal.

The next week on RAW, The Deadman arrived. He kept looking at the WrestleMania marquee above him. He said that April 2 will be the day he puts his undefeated Streak of 8-0 on the line. Undertaker said he plans to add a ninth soul to the list. The Phenom said The Grandest Stage of Them All is the day he becomes eternal. And if it weren't for Yokozuna putting him in a casket in 1994, he would stand before the WWE Universe 9-0. But he digresses. Undertaker said he is dead-set on competing at WrestleMania, and he is throwing down the challenge to whoever feels they can end the Streak. Suddenly, Batista came down with a steel chair and without saying a word, stared The Demon of Death Valley down and slapped him in his face. Undertaker took off his coat and hat and started brawling, but Batista gained the upper hand with a crafty chair shot and ended up taking The Deadman down 12 times with the steel. The Animal then yelled, "I AM THE ONE!" and raised up the chair. On SmackDown! that week, Batista said he has been asked by several people why he attacked The Undertaker. He said anyone wondering is an idiot and that he had already stated his intention to make history and become a legend at WrestleMania this year. And Batista said beating The Phenom on the grand stage would make him a future Hall of Famer. "Eight men have been across the ring from Undertaker at WrestleMania, and eight men have lost to Undertaker at WrestleMania. That is incredible. Not everyone can say they're undefeated on the biggest day of the year, but that man can. Which is why I have to end it all." The Animal said that all eight of those men were failures and jokes unlike him, and that Undertaker has never faced anyone that knows they're the one-until now. The gong struck and the lights went out. When they returned, The Demon of Death Valley was ready to fight. Batista, on the other hand, wasn't and simply left to a chorus of boos. On RAW that following Monday, Undertaker teamed up with Jeff Hardy to take on Desmond Wolfe and The Animal. The match ended in a disqualification victory for the faces when Batista used the steel steps on The Deadman, just as soon as he was about to finish Wolfe off with the Tombstone. Hardy tried to help, but the Intercontinental Champion was hit in the head with the steps. Batista put the steps on Undertaker's stomach as King said one thing: "I have a bad feeling that Batista WILL end the Streak." On SmackDown! that week, Batista paid a visit to Death Valley, California to see The Phenom's WrestleMania graveyard. The Animal noticed the many headstones of men that Undertaker had put away. Like Jake "The Snake" Roberts at WrestleMania VIII or Diesel at WrestleMania XII. Batista's half-brother John Cena is one man that failed to beat the Streak at WrestleMania XIV, and Big Show one year later at WrestleMania XV. Batista took a steel chair and knocked down all the headstones with it. The Washington, D.C. native then brought out his own 8-1 headstone. "I refuse to become #9, Deadman. At WrestleMania, you and your perfect record, will REST...IN...PEACE!"

Soon after, Undertaker grew increasingly angrier, and vowed to send Batista to Hell at WrestleMania. He even said that their match on April 2 will now be a Street Fight. The 290-pounder was unafraid of that, and said that The Demon of Death Valley will only make his loss even more painful. Nine days before 'Mania, Batista faced Christian. The Animal was about to finish it with the Batista Bomb, but then the lights went out and the gong struck. When they returned, Christian hooked Batista up and brought him down with the Killswitch. ONE! TWO! THREE! Christian then motioned to his waist, putting United States Champion Chris Jericho on notice. Suddenly, smoke filled the ring and Batista was being dragged under the ring by Undertaker, who vowed to hurt The Animal before their Street Fight. SmackDown! ended with the hole in the ring being shined on by a spotlight. With six days left, RAW GM Jonathan Coachman arranged a "final confrontation" between Undertaker and Batista. "I am going to make sure you leave WrestleMania in an ambulance. And anytime you think of the event, you think of the night where Batista became a legend by destroying you," said The Animal. Undertaker said for eight WrestleManias they have come, and for eight WrestleManias, they have fallen. And Batista is no different. He'll just be the ninth victim. "You'll be famous alright-when I take your soul just like everyone else. The funny thing is, they all say they're not afraid. Then when you look across the ring from me on The Grandest Stage of Them All, that arrogance, that confidence disappears, all of it. And this Sunday, it's going to end the same way..." Before Undertaker could finish, Batista went on the attack. But The Demon of Death Valley was ready to fight and the two were now brawling at long last. Eventually, the fight made its way to the stage. Neither man held the advantage for that long. Undertaker went for the Tombstone Piledriver, but Batista escaped and kicked The Deadman low. With no regard for his own safety, The Animal charged at Undertaker and speared him through the glass part of the RAW set. Within three seconds, pyro exploded like crazy and a fire broke out. Both men had to be helped up while the fire was put out. For the remainder of RAW, there was just an empty space where the glass used to be.

At WrestleMania 2000, The Undertaker defends his impressive WrestleMania streak of 8-0 against his most determined opponent-"The Animal" Batista. But this won't be any old match. It'll be a Street Fight. And anything goes in a Street Fight. But the winner must be determined inside that ring. Will The Phenom go 9-0 and add another unlucky victim to his graveyard? Or will Batista make history and forever be known as the man who ended the Streak?


	5. One Book Ends, Another Begins

At No Way Out, during the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match, Triple H hit the Pedigree on Randy Orton on the steel floor. Incensed at that, Orton saw it fit to return the favor. When The Game hit the Pedigree on The Undertaker and tried to eliminate him, The Legend Killer punted Triple H in the skull, hit him with an RKO, and pinned him for the elimination. The next night on RAW, both men were involved in a Scramble match. The winner would challenge WWE Champion John Cena at WrestleMania 2000. At one point, Triple H scored a pinfall on Orton through a Pedigree, and would continue to attack The Viper even after the three-count. Backstage after the match, The King of Kings was elbowed in the back of his head by Orton and assaulted. Neither man won the Scramble, as it was Shawn Michaels who got a pinfall with two seconds left. All four referees from the red brand (Senior Ref Mike Chioda, Chad Patton, Jack Doan, John Cone) and other RAW Superstars tried to get the former ECW Champion off Triple H, and when they did, Triple H came back with a flurry of blows, and now the two were brawling.

The next week on RAW, Orton came out and said that while Triple H started everything in the Chamber match and continued it 24 hours later, it was more than that. It was about WrestleMania. That's why The Legend Killer attacked The Cerebral Assassin backstage. Because of what happened at WrestleMania XV one year ago. Triple H, after being diagnosed with quadrilitis and being told he won't wrestle for six months up to a full year, returned after just three months at the Royal Rumble and won the 30-man battle royal. His target: ECW Champion Orton, who had given him quadrilitis at Cyber Sunday 1998. In the final match of the show, in front of a wild crowd in Philadelphia and the world watching at home, Orton was beaten in an Extreme Rules Match. "I was forced to watch Triple H take away MY ECW Championship and celebrate with the whole brand's roster, while I was buried in balloons and confetti." The Viper failed to regain the title at Backlash in a Last Man Standing Match, or in a Triple Threat Match at Judgment Day which Undertaker went on to win. Orton refused to let that loss on March 28 go unanswered, so he vowed that things would be different in 2000. "I don't want to end your career, Hunter, that's just an added bonus. I want my rematch, and I want the rivalry to end with ME STANDING OVER YOU!," Orton said. Triple H came out with his trusty sledgehammer A.J., but she was dropped on the floor. The Game had an intense look the whole time, and stared at the WrestleMania sign. He then smiled and hit the Pedigree on Orton. "I'm not going to face you at WrestleMania, Randy." Triple H simply left.

Over the next week, rumors circulated that Triple H and Orton were going to compete against each other on April 2. Everywhere. But on the next RAW, The King of Kings simply stated he won't wrestle The Legend Killer. He claimed that the rivalry ended at Backlash last year, and he refuses to mention Judgment Day because Orton was just along for the ride there. "I've beaten him twice, I got my revenge, and I don't need or want to do it again." As soon as Triple H was about to leave, the St. Louis native arrived. Orton said The Cerebral Assassin doesn't want to give him his rematch because of how that might turn out. "You know you can't beat me a third time. You know you won't win on April 2, and you know I'm better than you." Suddenly, Triple H got angry, but he saw what The Legend Killer was up to and once again said no. He left the ring and headed to the top of the stage when Orton said: "It's just like you, Hunter. You don't want to make 2000 any worse than it's already been for you. You lost the Triple Threat Match, you lost the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, the Scramble. You wanted to become WWE Champion. Hell, you could probably be WWE Champion right now. But you're not because you're a joke. 2000 has been the worst year of your career so far. And it'll only become a bigger joke if I beat you." That's when The King of Kings took off his leather jacket and marched back down to the ring. Veins were popping on his forehead as he got in The Viper's face and said: "You think this has anything to do with 2000? How many times I've failed to win the title? It's only March. There are still nine more months for me to win the WWE Championship. And you know what? It starts with you. You want your rematch at WrestleMania? YOU WANT YOUR REVENGE? YOUR SALVATION? You want to put this rivalry to an end? YOU GOT IT!" Triple H was about to leave, but picked up the mic again. "If this is going to be the final chapter, we need to go out with a bang. We need to end it to the point where one man leaves with everything, and the other leaves with nothing. Because I'll be DAMNED when I beat you, and I have to see you in the locker room a week after. You beat me, the rivalry ends, and you get your salvation. But if I beat you, YOU LEAVE THE WWE!" The crowd went nuts at that condition. Orton smirked and said: "Game on, Hunter." The Legend Killer left while "The Memory Remains" by Metallica played. The Cerebral Assassin never dropped his icy stare at Orton.

This was truly going to be the end. "The Memory Remains" was used for the HHH/Orton match only. This was a first for the WWE, as before, they would usually use just one song for the event. In the coming WrestleManias, the company would end up choosing four songs max, and about two of them would be for certain matches, based on the mood and atmosphere of that particular match. Jonathan Coachman, inspired by Triple H saying the road to the WWE Championship starts with Orton, made another stipulation for the match: This would also be a #1 Contender's Match. The winner challenges the WWE Champion at Backlash on April 30. If Shawn Michaels beats John Cena for the title, it'll be changed to a Triple Threat Match, because Cena will most definitely invoke his rematch clause at the event. The Legend Killer's confidence decreased considerably in the coming weeks, as Triple H promised the WWE Universe that Orton will never perform for Vince McMahon again. With two weeks to go, Triple H teamed up with The Money-Making Loudmouths (Mr. Kennedy and Shane McMahon) to face Orton and World Tag Team Champions Generation Me (Max and Jeremy Buck) in a six-man tag. The Legend Killer won for his team with an RKO to Kennedy off the top turnbuckle. Orton rolled on the canvas for a bit because he hurt the back of his head, but was able to score the pin. After the match, The Viper refused to celebrate with Generation Me, and both Max and Jeremy received an RKO. McMahon tried to avenge his new buddy, but was hit with an RKO as well. Triple H hoped to end it by striking Orton with A.J., but the former WWE Champion ducked and caught the Greenwich native with an RKO as well. King said this is as dangerous as Orton has ever been. Backstage, Triple H barged into The Legend Killer's locker room, and said no matter what Orton thinks, it won't matter. Because on April 2, two years of hate will end with The Game the new #1 contender, and The Legend Killer without a job. All Orton did was have an icy stare.

Neither Orton nor Triple H were on the final RAW before WrestleMania. According to backstage reports, both men said that they ended it so well in the locker room they should keep it at that and wait until Sunday. Although neither of them made an appearance, they were both backstage. To compensate, WWE produced two videos that played on the show. The first one highlighted the many brawls and bad blood that the two have had, with "The Memory Remains" playing in the background. The second one focused on Orton, his life as a wrestler and his career achievements, including his near-killing of Triple H at Cyber Sunday 1998. "Where Do I Go" by Sebastian Mego was used in the video.

At WrestleMania 2000, a rematch one year in the making will take place. Two years of bad blood will come to an end. And for one man, he will never wrestle in WWE again. Will Triple H put his arch-nemesis Randy Orton away for good, and get one step closer to realizing his New Year's resolution? Or will Orton save his job in the company, get his retribution and give Triple H something more to regret over in the awful year that has been 2000?


	6. A Celebration of Life

It was March 28, 1999. It was a wild crowd at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 20,276 members of the WWE Universe were in attendance for the 15th edition of WrestleMania. Already, they had seen Undertaker make Big Show tap out to Hell's Gate and extend his Streak to 8-0. They had seen John Cena retain the WWE Championship over Edge in a brutal Chairs Match. And they had seen "Rowdy" Roddy Piper survive a wicked No-Count-Out, No-Disqualification Best-2-out-of-3 Falls Match against Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and remain World Heavyweight Champion, a reign he had kept intact since SummerSlam 1998. CEO Vince McMahon came out and had a major announcement. It was about WrestleMania XVI, or as WWE was calling it, WrestleMania 2000, to mark the first 'Mania of the new millennium. Vinnie Mac announced that Anaheim, California had won the bidding rights, and Arrowhead Pond would be the site for WrestleMania a year from now. This marked the second time Anaheim was named host of WrestleMania (WrestleMania XII in 1996) and the fourth time WrestleMania would be held in Southern California (along with WrestleMania XII in Anaheim, Los Angeles tri-hosted WrestleMania 2 in 1986 with New York and Chicago, and WrestleMania VII in 1991). The decision was made around Royal Rumble weekend, and a small private press conference was held that Monday at the Anaheim Convention Center. But this was WWE's first public mention of where 'Mania would be in 2000. McMahon said in the coming months that this WrestleMania would go down in history as one of the biggest ever produced. "When we came to Orange County in 1996, the WWE was going through a transitional period. We even had to change our name. But four years later, we're as bad as we've ever been, and we are going to rock Orange County on April 2!," McMahon said in a July press conference inside Arrowhead Pond. WWE Champion John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion "Rowdy" Roddy Piper were there, along with The Sandman and Sabu. Also on hand was Mayor of Anaheim Tom Daly, Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim captain Paul Sariya, and Ducks right winger Teemu Selanne. Daly, Eisner, Sariya, and Selanne were all presented with replica WWE Championship belts.

"World War III" by the Jonas Brothers and "The Memory Remains" by Metallica were selected as theme songs. Saliva, the band that performs Batista's entrance theme "I Walk Alone" and _ECW_'s theme song "Don't Question My Heart" featuring Shinedown's Brent Smith, was rumored to have one of their songs used by WWE for months, but nothing came of it. Edison International Field of Anaheim, home of MLB's Anaheim Angels, was selected to host the 2000 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, which would take place the night before WrestleMania. Although it caused problems at first, because the Angels were scheduled to open their season at home against the New York Yankees, the two sides worked around it and both events were held, no biggie. Hulk Hogan was named the head of the class. Six days after Survivor Series, tickets for WrestleMania 2000 went on sale. About 15,238 tickets were sold that day, the highest first-day total for a WrestleMania held in an arena. This 'Mania was going to be special because for the first time, the crowd would be filled with members of the WWE Universe from around the world. For years, it was customary for fans to go out-of-state just to see The Grandest Stage of Them All. But this wasn't 1994 anymore. WWE's popularity was at its peak in 2000, and people were prepared to make the journey to Anaheim from places like Mexico, England, Brazil, Australia, France, Ireland, Iceland, and Norway. The amount of non-locals that would be in attendance (about more than half the people expected to be there don't even live in California), plus the international influence that WWE now had, made Vince think long and hard about where WrestleMania would be held in 2001.

WWE did a good job of advertising the event. The company teamed up with 7-Eleven as part of a promotion. Five limited edition Slurpee cups were made featuring Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels. According to recent merchandise sales and fan surveys, they were considered to be WWE's biggest draws. People who buy the cups also have the choice of entering a sweepstakes where the first-prize winner receives an all-expenses paid trip to Anaheim and ringside seats to WrestleMania for them and a guest. The promotion began on February 7 and ended on March 18. Along with "World War III" being used, the Jonas Brothers announced on Twitter that they would be performing on April 2. It was confirmed that same night on RAW by Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. In case you didn't know, Nick, Joe, and Kevin are huge WWE fans. They even gave their Royal Rumble picks in January. Once again, the Saliva rumors started up. They ranged from the usual ones like the group performing "I Walk Alone" live to introduce Batista, to the insane ones like the group getting involved in the Street Fight and helping Batista win. However, Saliva regularly denied any involvement with WrestleMania. This shocked many fans because of how amicable the relationship is between the group and WWE. Members of the Angels and Mighty Ducks were reportedly going to attend the event. Tim Belcher, Ken Hill, Jarrod Washburn, Bengie Molina, Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, and Darin Erstad were all the Angels going. Along with Sariya and Selanne, Ladislav Kohn, Kip Miller, Matt Cullen, Ruslan Salei, and Stu Grimson were the Ducks attending. More than 40 celebrities planned to be at WrestleMania. Among them were Guns N' Roses, LL Cool J, Cameron Diaz, Selma Hayek, Bruce Springsteen, _Simpsons _creator Matt Groening, Alyssa Milano, Lauryn Hill, Andre Agassi, and Run-DMC. WWE also expanded their WrestleMania promotion to the talk show circuit. From Oprah to Leno, they all received visits from WWE Superstars. Hardcore Holly showed up on _Late Show with David Letterman_, and taught Letterman how to do the Alabama Slam. Holly also gave Letterman his own ECW Championship belt. Letterman told Holly to give Tommy Dreamer Hell at WrestleMania. The CBS Orchestra even performed Holly's entrance theme. Cena showed up on SportsCenter as a featured guest. WrestleMania was heavily mentioned throughout the episode. Cena was very "revealing," according to an ESPN spokesman. At one point, the WWE Champion squashed the rumors of who would succeed Vince as CEO, stating that it would be Triple H. Snippets of Cena's guest appearance was shown on RAW that night.

JR and King had three major announcements. On Sunday, at noon, live from Anaheim on TNN, there will be a six-hour WrestleMania special. All six commentators from RAW, SmackDown!, and ECW will analyze the event and give their two cents on the matches. All day there will be special guests in the booth, and video packages for the main events. During this special, there will be a live concert at The Grove to celebrate WrestleMania. Performers include Run-DMC, Kid Rock, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, A Tribe Called Quest, Guns N' Roses, and the Beastie Boys. Performances will be shown during the special. Throughout the week on pay-per-view at 7:00 pm sharp, viewers get a chance to relive the past six WrestleManias. It all leads up to WrestleMania: All Day Long on Sunday. From 11:00 am to 5:30 pm EST, there will be highlights from every single WrestleMania so far. There will also be snippets of the special and a sneak preview inside Arrowhead Pond. Plus, a free replay of WrestleMania 2000. And at 5:30 pm, the WrestleMania pre-show begins on WWE's official website and their YouTube and Facebook pages. It all leads up to the big show at 7:00 pm EST, 4:00 pm PST. So from 11:00 am on April 2 to 3:00 am on April 3, immerse yourself, indulge yourself, and enjoy yourself as a WWE fan. You deserve the best.

WrestleMania Axxess II began on March 29 and ended the day of WrestleMania at the Anaheim Convention Center. However, this Axxess was even bigger. Along with meeting your favorite WWE Superstars again, this time the fan was even more in control. They can mimic entrances of the Superstars, commentate live matches streamed on the WWE's website, and visit The Undertaker's graveyard, which was off-limits a year ago. Over 200 championship belts were on display from various wrestling companies, memorabilia from various Superstars was now open to the public and Axxess was now a hotbed for the world's largest collection of WWE merchandise. The first day was about WrestleManiArt, but now, members of the WWE Universe were now open to display their artistic works. The second day was the Reading Challenge Finals, and the third day was the Pro-Am Golf Tournament featuring Superstars and celebrities together. That night, Michael Cole and King hosted an edition of SmackDown! live from Axxess. This also marked the world premiere of the video packages. And of course, the next day was the Hall of Fame ceremony. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper inducted Hogan. "All my life, I wanted to be just like Hulk Hogan. He was the man, and he will always be the man. And if it wasn't for Hulkamania running wild in 1984, there would be no WrestleMania here in 2000. Hogan is, in my honest opinion, the most influential man in the history of professional wrestling," Piper said trying to hold back tears. With more than 40,000 people on hand, Hogan finally received his due for all of his contributions to wrestling.

It was WrestleMania 2000 where Mr. McMahon realized something very important. This wasn't just a one-day event anymore. It was a week-long tribute to the WWE and wrestling in general. It was a celebration of life.

NOTE: As an added bonus, WWE's website followed World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam around Anaheim all week long, from WrestleManiArt to backstage after the title match with Big Show. It was WWE's first-ever "WrestleMania Diary."


	7. The Big Day

With six days to go until WrestleMania 2000, planning was essential. WWE taped _ECW _and parts of _Friday Night SmackDown!_ before and after _Monday Night RAW_, which was live from San Diego. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler's hosting of that week's _SmackDown! _was, of course, live from Axxess. About an hour after RAW, every member of the red brand was transported by coach bus from San Diego to Anaheim. SmackDown! and ECW traveled together, but on separate buses. The next day at the Disneyland Hotel, WWE held their final WrestleMania press conference, hosted by Tazz and streamed on WWE's official website at 4 pm EST, 1 pm PST. All Superstars attending were in-character. Batista promised to end The Undertaker's Streak, Rob Van Dam vowed to retain his World Heavyweight Championship, Big Show predicted that he would beat RVD in at least five minutes, and ECW Champion Hardcore Holly said that a new era in the Land of The Extreme would begin when he beat Tommy Dreamer. All main event matches were represented by each competitor, but of course, Undertaker was absent. The crowd loved Randy Orton but hated Triple H and constantly booed him. John Cena was booed even worse. Shawn Michaels, Orton, and RVD were all favorites at the press conference. The conference wasn't shown on _ECW _that night because people will get the impression that what they're watching isn't live.

Six days later was the big day. Vince McMahon said he wanted to increase the stakes with WrestleMania 2000, and make it as big as the Super Bowl. That would explain the pre-shows, concerts, specials, promotions, product tie-ins, and celebrity involvement. Around noon PST, RAW Superstars were transported by bus from the Anaheim Hills Inn & Suites (where the entire WWE roster was staying for WrestleMania Week) to downtown Anaheim for the first-ever WrestleMania Red Carpet Show presented by 7-Eleven. Similar to the red carpet show that MLB holds for their All-Star Game each summer, Superstars are slowly driven on top of cars to Arrowhead Pond. Meanwhile, fans could take pictures of their favorites as they wave to the people. Snippets of the red carpet show were shown during the six-hour special. An hour later, the SmackDown! Superstars came, and the ECW Superstars an hour after that. Cena was the most determined. Two hours until the big show. Two hours until the world's eyes are focused only on one thing: WrestleMania. It was always said that the day of WrestleMania, you pretty much leave Cena and Undertaker alone, because they're more focused than anyone else on putting on a spectacle. Undertaker was private enough as it is, so a lot of Superstars knew not to bother him. But Cena was uncharacteristically reserved and solitary on WrestleMania day. The WWE Champion also had to talk with the WWE production crew about his entrance, and rehearsed it nine times so he could get it right. According to his Twitter, he said "I'm going to give the haters what they want" with his entrance. The match order was pinned up in the locker room for all to see, and most Superstars were content with their placement on the card. Michaels was busy with WWE seamstress Julie Youngberg, who was creating new attire for him. Youngberg had been designing Michaels' gear since the day he wrestled his first PPV match, and the two were close friends. Lots of men had to see Youngberg, including Dreamer. The #1 contender for the ECW Championship also spent time with WWE composer Jim Johnston, for reasons you won't know about until later. ;)

The Grove had several new seats installed, because the 1,700-person seating capacity was just too small. This was the WrestleMania Concert. Every act performed at least two songs:

Kid Rock-Bawitdaba/I Am The Bullgod/American Bad Ass (new)

Run-DMC-Rock Box/King of Rock/My Adidas/Raising Hell/Run's House (first set)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band-Tenth-Avenue Freeze-Out/Thunder Road/Hungry Heart/Born in the U.S.A.

Guns N' Roses-Welcome To The Jungle/Paradise City/Sweet Child O' Mine/Knockin' on Heaven's Door/Mr. Brownstone

Beastie Boys-No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn/Brass Monkey/Pass the Mic/Sabotage/Intergalactic

Metallica-For Whom The Bell Tolls/Master of Puppets/Enter Sandman/Sad But True/The Memory Remains

A Tribe Called Quest-Check The Rhime/Jazz (We've Got)/I Left My Wallet In El Segundo/Bonita Applebum/Can I Kick It?

Rage Against The Machine-Bullet in The Head/Know Your Enemy/Wake Up/Bulls on Parade/Sleep Now in the Fire

Run-DMC-Tougher Than Leather/Pause/Back From Hell/Ooh, Whatcha Gonna Do/Down With The King (second set)

More than 15,000 people were waiting for the gates to open at Arrowhead Pond, and at 2:15 pm PST, 15 minutes before the pre-show, they did. All six commentators were grateful for 3:00, because for one hour, they could rest and attend to other business before WrestleMania at 4:00. They had been on TV since 9:00 in the morning and deserved a break. Meanwhile, Howard Finkel was perfecting his voice. Not only was he introducing the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2000, but he was once again the ring announcer for the show's closing match. Finkel is the only WWE employee, past or present, to participate in every WrestleMania. Scott Stanford and Jack Korpela hosted the pre-show, while Joey Styles and Matt Striker did commentary. There was a 16-man battle royal involving Superstars from all three brands, which Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat won. For the World Tag Team Championship, The Money-Making Loudmouths challenged Generation Me. In the end, Max and Jeremy won by disqualification when Jeremy spit on Mr. Kennedy. In retaliation, Kennedy low-blowed Jeremy. Shane McMahon took down Max, and the two ended Generation Me with Kennedy hitting Jeremy with the Mic Check, and Shane-o-Mac setting up Max for the Coast-to-Coast.

Ladies and gentlemen, recess is over. It's time. Time for the glory, the grandeur, the magnificence that is WrestleMania.


	8. Triple H vs Randy Orton

The pay-per-view took place on April 2, 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. At 7:00 pm EST exactly, Snickers (who was presenting WrestleMania this year) gave away over 1,000,000 free bars to Americans just like you as part of a promotion. Contestants were also eligible to win a signed 8x10 frame of Batista, who participated in a commercial for the promotion. After the signature, the Western High School marching band performed "America The Beautiful," which they spent an entire two months rehearsing. WrestleMania 2000 started with WrestleMania III, and Vince McMahon's famous announcement in front of 93,173 members of the WWE Universe at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. McMahon said that he felt his father's soul while making this announcement.

_"Welcome to WrestleMania!"_

We then see Saliva in a room somewhere, but it doesn't look live. They're performing a new song called "Ladies and Gentlemen," which they wrote specifically for WrestleMania and WWE in general. Lead singer Josey Scott said that "Ladies and Gentlemen" was written in January and they filmed two videos for the song: One that would air at WrestleMania and the official one, which was released a day later and received heavy airplay on MTV over the next two months. They kept the song a secret because they wanted it to be a surprise. Throughout the video, we see Saliva performing in the room with distorted camera angles and wind-blown paper, with shots of previous WrestleManias and the buildup for this one. "World War III" played and then the introductory pyro. All commentating teams introduced themselves, and we turned it over to Jim Ross, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Stevie Richards for WrestleMania 2000's first match. RAW's Jeff Hardy was defending the Intercontinental Championship against ECW's Desmond Wolfe. Hardy won after avoiding the Rebound Lariat and catching Wolfe with the Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb. During the title match, Hardy survived being locked in the Thames Barrier twice and the Tower of London. The next match was Chris Jericho defending the United States Championship against Christian and Dean Ambrose in a Triple Threat. Y2J had Captain Charisma trapped in the Liontamer, but Ambrose hit Jericho with an enziguri and then nailed the Midnight Special on Christian. ONE! TWO! THREE! New U.S. Champion! Next, in a match reminiscent of Kurt Angle vs. Mark Jindrak from WrestleMania XIV, ECW standouts Austin Aries and Seth Rollins battled one-on-one for the first time. When Aries failed to put Rollins away with the Brainbuster, he made him tap out to the Last Chancery. Desmond Wolfe attacked both Aries and Rollins after the match, to make up for his loss to Hardy. ECW's Mark Jindrak then faced RAW's Brock Lesnar, with SmackDown!'s Kurt Angle as special guest referee. Jindrak and Lesnar had been feuding since the Royal Rumble. Angle was the impartial ref, but that all changed when Jindrak went for the Flux Capacitor. The Olympic gold medalist brutally assaulted Jindrak with a steel chair. Lesnar then hit the F-5 on the chair, and Angle quickly counted to give The Next Big Thing the victory. The two freaks of nature celebrated after the match, while the third freak was left incapacitated in the ring. The final undercard match saw Jeff team up with his brother Matt, as the WWE Tag Team Champions went up against The Sandman & Sabu. In the end, the ECW originals were too much for The Hardy Boyz to overcome.

Now it was time for the first main event: Triple H vs. Randy Orton. The #1 contendership for the WWE Championship and Orton's WWE career were at stake. The video package using "The Memory Remains" played, and Orton made his entrance. The video using "Where Do I Go?" played earlier in the night. JR said he wouldn't be surprised if Orton does something he shouldn't, because his way of life is just three seconds from being taken away. Then it was time for Triple H's entrance. For one night only, he wasn't using "The Game." The Greenwich native was switching to another Motorhead song called "You Better Swim." Triple H also came out of a model replica of the Sao Paulo Cathedral, complete with tons of green smoke and more than 300 strobe lights. Well, the theatrics were over. The King of Kings and The Viper stared each other down as "The Memory Remains" played for the last time. 18,034 members of the WWE Universe were ready for some action. That's right. 18,034 seats were filled here tonight in Anaheim, counting celebrities and athletes of course. The bell rang and Orton immediately went for the RKO. But Triple H backed him away and went for the Pedigree. Orton countered it into a schoolboy. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! King said that he can already tell Orton is going to be urgent throughout the match and take out Triple H as soon as possible. The Legend Killer wasted little time by catching Triple H with the RKO. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! JR said that it is a rarity you see someone kick out of an RKO delivered with such swiftness and impact. "Triple H knows how high the stakes are in this match. In his mind, it's going to take a lot more than the RKO to keep him down for three seconds," King said. Triple H rolled around on the canvas for a while, while Orton set up for another RKO. But Triple H hit the Pedigree on The Viper after pushing him away. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! JR said he loves the pace this match is going so early. "Both Triple H and Orton are men that go to business, JR. This is what WrestleMania is all about. The WWE Championship. A career at stake. So many storylines blended into one!," King said. The Cerebral Assassin took advantage and isolated Orton in the corner for a vast period of time. After a corner suplex, Triple H went for another Pedigree, but Orton turned it into a back bodydrop. The Legend Killer was much more strategic with his attack, mostly focusing on The Game's right shoulder, which had been given minor surgery a few weeks back. Orton also trapped Triple H's skull in the ring post, and took him to the outside for a Hangtime DDT on the floor. The Viper mocked the Greenwich native with the DX chop, and stole his pose simply to anger the Anaheim crowd. Orton stepped back a little, and prepared to punt Triple H in the skull. Apparently, he was just fine with an any-means-necessary victory, according to JR. However, The King of Kings was one step ahead and rammed The Legend Killer into the ring apron repeatedly. However, referee Chad Patton was at 9, so the punishment would have to wait.

Back in the ring, Triple H focused on Orton's knee. The 1999 Royal Rumble winner had clearly done his homework. At Survivor Series 1997, during his Chairs Match against John Cena for the WWE Championship, a failed Punt Kick attempt sent Orton's knee into the ring post with a thud. The then-WWE Champion dealt with it as a nuisance and a on-and-off problem until May 1998, where surgery was seriously needed after Judgment Day. The Game stretched out The Viper's knee like a cheese pretzel at the mall. Orton was screaming in pain and banging his arm on the canvas repeatedly. Triple H then stole the Randy Orton Stomp from its creator, and ended with a knee drop on the injured knee. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! The King of Kings was a little annoyed, but knew he would need a lot more to finish the job. Triple H then locked in the Ace of Spades, and Orton screamed in pain at the hold. JR said the Ace of Spades is one of the most deadly leglocks he has ever seen as a wrestling fan, and Triple H learned the hold during his training days in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Legend Killer reached the ropes, preserving his career for a bit longer. Triple H then pulled a Kurt Angle with a German suplex. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Orton struggled to get back to a vertical base, and was able to toss Triple H back-first on the outside after a failed clothesline. The Viper then climbed the top turnbuckle and nailed a dropkick on The Cerebral Assassin. Orton then busted Triple H open by repeatedly bashing his skull onto the SmackDown! announce table. Cole and Tazz stood up and watched The Legend Killer punish The Game. Annoyed by Patton's count, Orton got into the ring, stared at Patton, and hit him with an RKO. BAM! The 18,034 members of the WWE Universe in attendance were stunned and excited, and a "Randy Orton!" chant was started. You have to love international fans, right? With no referee and no rules for the moment, the St. Louis native got to work by nailing Triple H silly with wicked TV monitor shots. Orton then put The King of Kings on top of the SD! announce table, preparing for an RKO. But Triple H was prepared, and threw him onto the floor in pain. The Cerebral Assassin then legdropped Orton's knee. BAM! Triple H then brought out A.J., and was prepared to do serious damage to The Legend Killer's skull. But Orton ducked and hit a backbreaker. Orton put Triple H inside, and prepared to use A.J. himself. Before The Viper could strike, The Cerebral Assassin responded with an AA spinebuster. A.J. was forcibly let go and fell out of the ring. Triple H posed, did the DX chop, and prepared for a Pedigree. BAM! Randy Orton's career was history! The Game then covered Orton, but there was no ref. Patton was still knocked out.

Jonathan Coachman's music played as he sent out #3 ref Jack Doan (who had worked the Intercontinental Championship match earlier) to make the count. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Triple H was enraged, and went for another Pedigree. But The Legend Killer escaped and hit another RKO. BAM! The cover! ONE! TWO! NO! Orton didn't let Doan continue the count. Instead, he climbed the top turnbuckle and went high-risk. Jeff Hardy taught him the move, and Mr. Kennedy helped him perfect it. JR and King went nuts as The Viper hit a senton bomb on The King of Kings. BAM! ONE! TWO! THREE! It was over. It was done. Randy Orton, one year after losing the ECW Championship in the final match at WrestleMania, got revenge. One year after failing under Extreme Rules, got retribution. One year after being humbled by Triple H, got redemption. Not just that, but Orton saved everything he lives for: His job in the WWE. And to add to it, The Legend Killer was now the #1 contender for the WWE Championship. A graphic for Backlash showed up, and it put Orton next to WWE Champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels. If Cena wins in the closing match here in Anaheim tonight, an old rivalry will be rekindled in D.C. However, if Michaels wins, it'll be a Triple Threat Match for the richest prize in sports-entertainment. Orton stood on The Cerebral Assassin's fallen body and motioned to his waist. Final result: Randy Orton def. Triple H (RKO followed by senton bomb)

NEXT UP: d-champion

Extreme Rules Match

ECW Championship

d-Hardcore Holly vs. Tommy Dreamer


	9. Hardcore Holly vs Tommy Dreamer

A "commercial" hyped up Vince McMahon's announcement of where WrestleMania X-Seven would be on April 1, 2001. This was going to be the first public mention of which city won the bidding rights. All we know is that it came down to four finalists: New Orleans, Louisiana (New Orleans Arena), Denver, Colorado (Mile High Stadium), Minneapolis, Minnesota (Target Center), and Houston, Texas (Astrodome). Also, WWE Universe, it was your chance to enter a sweepstakes to win tickets to the seventeenth Grandest Stage of Them All. Grand-prize winners receive an all-expense paid trip to the host city, hotel accomodations, and luxury box seats to WrestleMania X-Seven. SO ENTER, DAMMIT!

Speaking of luxury box, Michael Eisner was in there tonight in The Pond with Mayor of Anaheim Tom Daly and Angels general manager Bill Stoneman. And look who was in the house front-row. Saliva themselves, who came to WrestleMania fashionably late. OK, time for the ECW Championship match. And it was Extreme Rules, kiddies. No countouts, no disqualifications. Just weapons, broken bones, and a winner by pinfall or submission. In fact, some weapons were already set up. New WWE Tag Team Champions Sabu and The Sandman invited the entire ECW roster into their locker room to watch the match. Of course, there were snacks and a whole lot of beer and champagne. A video package for the match aired, and ECW ring announcer Tony Chimel introduced the special enforcer for the championship match. SmackDown! color commentator and ECW Original Tazz, who had to change from his fancy suit and tie into a muscle tee and black pants. An unknown man appeared, talking about various Greek gods, and how none of them compare to ECW Champion Hardcore Holly. That man was later revealed to be Cody Rhodes, former member of Fourtune (an anti-establishment wrestling group comprised of Batista, Ted DiBiase Jr., Rhodes, and Dolph Ziggler, which was alive from July-December 1999). After Undertaker attacked all members of Fourtune on his final ECW episode before signing with RAW, Batista was kept on the main roster while the other three were sent back to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Holly then came out wearing a new gold-and-white vest, with gold-and-white shorts. In storyline, Holly's salary had increased after winning a world championship, and was now living for the finer things in life. The vest stretched all the way to the floor. Dreamer came out with new white pants that had his face on the side (courtesy of Youngberg) and a new entrance theme (courtesy of Johnston) called "Extreme Violence." It was a remix of "Man In The Box" by Alice In Chains. Dreamer used "Man In The Box" back when ECW was a company, and Johnston thought it would be a cool idea to cover it, rather than return to it. It was later confirmed on WWE's official website that "Extreme Violence" was now Dreamer's official theme song. OK, here we go. Two men with all the hate in the world and a barbed wire blood-stained title to fight for. ECW Senior Referee Scott Armstrong raised up the belt, and the bell rang.

As soon as it rang, Holly slid out of the ring, but Tazz put him back in. He couldn't escape Extreme Rules at WrestleMania. It's likely that Holly's grandstanding took him off his game in the early goings, because Dreamer was all over him. Richards talked about how enraged Dreamer has been over the past few weeks due to Holly's self-made "you can't touch the champ" rule. Dreamer tried every pinfall attempt, but the ECW Champion kicked out easily each time. Dreamer went outside for a steel chair. He had a slow, blunt, methodical approach to this match. ONE SHOT! TWO SHOTS! THREE SHOTS! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE! TEN! You could hear the spine-bending shots in Sacramento. Dreamer added insult to injury by saying, "Welcome to ECW, punk." Mahoney said that Holly is paying the ultimate price. Being world champion, especially the ECW Champion, is harder than becoming world champion. Dreamer went for a cover, but Holly stunningly kicked out. Even Tazz was shocked. Dreamer went for his world-famous DDT (now called Broken Dreams) but Holly countered it into a reverse piledriver. That only got a two-count. Now the ECW Champion was in control. Holly got a Singapore cane, a fire extinguisher, and a key. Holly decimated Dreamer with the cane, hitting him 14 times. Holly then humiliated Dreamer by sticking the key in his eye (temporarily blinding him in that eye) and spraying him with the fire extinguisher. Tazz shook his head and almost couldn't bear to see it. Tommy Dreamer, his best friend and most likely the toughest man he knows, getting it bad at the hands of the underdog kid from Alabama. Despite that punishment, Dreamer kicked out at two. Holly went out of the ring, got a microphone, and sat on the steel chair in the ring, watching Dreamer slowly try to get up.

"My name is Hardcore Holly, and I own the ECW Championship. Tommy, your time is done. Your best days are over. It's time to pass the torch to the next generation. ECW has a huge future, and I'm the face of that future. So..."

Holly whacked Dreamer in the skull repeatedly with the mic. Then he went back into the chair.

"So enjoy this night while you can. Because at the end of this match, a new era in the WWE will begin, and you won't be a part of it," Holly said with a smirk. Holly kept punching Dreamer in his face and spat on him. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! The ECW Champion, hardly fazed by the two-count, went for a legdrop off the top turnbuckle, but Dreamer moved away. Now the Yonkers native was back in it. Two clotheslines, a falling neckbreaker, and then a fallaway slam. Dreamer got the Anaheim crowd hyped up for a piledriver, followed by the Tommy Hawk. However, Dreamer hit the Tommy Hawk on the steel steps outside. However, Dreamer suffers as much as his opponent when attempting the move on a weapon like the steps, so both men were down. The #1 contender was just getting warmed up. He hit Holly with various weapons (a stop sign, the ring bell, the covering from the ECW announce table) and then exposed the steel floor. Dreamer went for a DDT, but Holly countered it into a suplex. You could pretty much hear Dreamer's scream and endless banging on the floor. Holly licked his lips in delight, like a fox knowing dinner time was approaching. The ECW Champion put Dreamer back in the ring and hit a Shining Wizard, then the Alabama Slam. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! No matter how much punishment Tommy Dreamer has endured tonight, he's still kicking out. Holly yelled at Tazz to get him a garbage can and a Singapore cane, but the special enforcer couldn't do it. He knew how much pain Dreamer was in. The ECW Champion gave Tazz the finger, and went to get the weapons himself. Tazz got in Holly's face and dared him to flip him off again. In response, Holly kicked Tazz low and gave him the Alabama Slam through a table. "Absolutely no respect for the legends of ECW," Richards said with disgust. The ECW Champion was really pissing on the greats here tonight. This distraction gave Dreamer time to regroup, and he dropkicked Holly before he could attack with the garbage can. Holly landed on the garbage can, so his ribs were burning in pain. Dreamer whipped his opponent with that cane mercilessly, at least 15 times before it broke. Armstrong himself tried hard not to watch. The Yonkers native, with blood all over, hit Broken Dreams on the garbage can, and went for the cover. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! "I must be blind because I can't believe what I'm seeing right now," said a shocked Mahoney. Virtually everyone was shocked. The RAW and SmackDown! commentators had been ignited by that one two-count. 18,034 members of the WWE Universe were witnessing something special. An Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship, one year after the star power of Randy Orton and Triple H, had once again captured the world's attention for 20-plus minutes.

Holly had just kicked out of Broken Dreams. Now Dreamer had to get creative. He picked the ECW Champion up for a Dreamer Driver, but Holly countered it with a wicked neckbreaker, right before he could be dropped on his skull. The Alabama native got the Alabama Slam, and went for the cover. ONE! TWO! NO! Tazz returned and hit Holly with a Big Boot. He then subjected the ECW Champion to the Tazzmission. The Yonkers native, seeing how Tazz attacked Holly as retribution, took advantage and got a wooden table. Dreamer then got a tank of gasoline and poured it all over the table. "The Innovator of Violence" took a match, lit it, and dropped it on the table. Now the table was flaming, ECW-style. Dreamer added insult to injury by hitting Holly with the Dreamer Driver through the table. ONE! TWO! THREE! It was over. It was alllllllllllllll over! Busted open and battered, Tommy Dreamer cried clutching the ECW Championship to his chest. Both Armstrong and Tazz held up his arms, and the special enforcer wrapped the Extreme prize around his best friend's waist. This Extreme Rules Match may or may not have topped the one last year, but it received rave reviews. And in many ways, Hardcore Holly was legitimized as a prime player on the purple/black brand. In February, Holly had the least chance of winning the ECW Championship at No Way Out, and many thought he would be the first out of the Elimination Chamber. Fast-forward more than 20 days later, and Holly got to headline WrestleMania as champ against ECW's finest in ECW's most brutal environment. But for now, we can rejoice because Tommy Dreamer is once again our new ECW Champion. And a record's been set. In the WWE, Dreamer has held the ECW Championship more times than anybody (three; March-June 1998, December 1999-February 2000, and now this reign). The ECW Original posed with some Australian fans over the barricade with them holding his title. Final result: Tommy Dreamer def. Hardcore Holly in an Extreme Rules Match to win ECW Championship (Dreamer Driver)

NEXT UP:

Street Fight

The Undertaker vs. Batista


	10. The Undertaker vs Batista

Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2000. Hulk Hogan received a huge reaction. Other inductees included I.R.S., Mr. T, and Tito Santana.

Batista gave an interview before the match to Todd Grisham, talking about how tonight, the Streak ends. Tonight, The Undertaker's legacy ends. And tonight, The Undertaker's career ends. Because this was an interpromotional match (RAW-The Undertaker vs. SmackDown!-Batista) the commentators were merged. JR and King teamed up with Cole for the Street Fight. Tazz, meanwhile, was getting dressed into his suit and tie again. The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line afterwards. A video package aired hyping up the match, and then Batista came descending down from a platform onto the stage slowly. "Theme From Exodus" by Ferrante & Teicher played during this. The Animal then took off his sweatshirt and "I Walk Alone" started up. JR said that he has been in this business for the better part of 17 years, and he has never seen anyone with as much readiness and confidence to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania than Batista. Plus, this is a Street Fight, and The Deadman is deadly in no-holds-barred matches. To contrast Batista coming down, Undertaker rose up from the floor using an automatic platform. He extended his arms and constant fireballs shot from the stage while lightning bolts erected it. Throughout all this, The Animal looked unfazed and simply bounced around outside the ring. Cole said that Batista can feel fear right now, but he doesn't show it. King said the true mark of a man is how he responds to fear, and Batista is exemplifying that right now. JR praised the Streak, stating that it was fit for someone as dominating as The Undertaker. He compared it to the Dallas Cowboys winning eight Super Bowls in nine years. Unheard of and incredible. Although the wrestling community sees Undertaker's match with John Cena at WrestleMania XIV as the moment the Streak became meaningful, it never became what we know of it today until this match. The Phenom, since the moment he ascended from "Hell," never took his gaze off Batista. Cole said that's usually done to intimidate the opponent, and let them know, "Hey, I'm coming for you." The 299-pounder from Death Valley and the 290-pounder from Washington, D.C. stared each other down as SmackDown! referee Charles Robinson signaled for the bell. OK, here we go, the Street Fight. There are no countouts, no disqualifications. The only way to win is by pinfall or submission inside the ring. A third option is knocking your opponent out to the point of unresponsiveness.

Undertaker, long known for being the best pure striker in the WWE, was set to utilize that against Batista to start the match. However, The Animal charged at him from the beginning with a takedown and a few punches. Cole said that is a genius move by Batista, because The Deadman likes to use aerial attacks at WrestleMania. He then brought up the over-the-top rope suicide dive onto the Big Show last year. Keeping Undertaker grounded limits what he's capable of. Batista clotheslined The Phenom out of the ring and threw him into the barricade twice. JR said he can't remember the last time Undertaker has looked so overmatched, especially at WrestleMania. The Animal was firing on all cylinders tonight, tossing Undertaker like a rag doll into the steel steps. Batista then sat on the barricade and told the fans, "I'm sorry. The Streak's ending tonight." The Animal was booed in that area as he continued his work on The Undertaker. JR said he isn't a member of Batista's fan club and doesn't condone his tactics, but he must respect how much they're working against a veteran like The Demon of Death Valley. Batista started to take off the covering on the RAW announce table, and used one of the TV monitors to knock out Undertaker in his skull. The Animal went to the top of the announce table, put Undertaker on his shoulder, and hit a powerslam past the RAW table, off the SmackDown! table and through the ECW table. Now both men were down. Cole said that for the first time at WrestleMania, Undertaker was being dominated. While Batista was slowly getting up, The Deadman sat up within seconds. "Look into the eyes of the demon," Cole said. The Animal was stunned as Undertaker grabbed him by the throat, and chokeslammed him over the barricade. The Phenom got a steel chair and wailed on Batista with it. The 290-pounder walked away, barely able to see as Undertaker's chair assault continued. The match made its way through a curtain the fans enter and exit from, so now about tens of people were watching it in front of them. The Animal exited through the front door of Arrowhead Pond, while The Demon of Death Valley continued to pursue him. Batista kicked Undertaker low and threw him into a car. The Animal looked behind him at a WrestleMania banner, showing the two men along with the other four headline matches. Batista kicked Undertaker in the stomach and said, "I'm gonna be a world champion, and you're gonna have no Streak!" JR said the ring psychology of The Animal is just amazing here. While Batista was trying to finish Undertaker off outside, Robinson caught up to them, not seeing which direction the two went. The Animal continued the assault, slamming and tossing The Deadman into various cars. At one point, he did the suplex-turned-powerslam on a Buick. Batista took Undertaker to the back entrance of the Pond, where most Superstars would be met. Cole said he is stunned at how unstoppable The Animal has been since the opening bell. Once Batista got The Phenom back to the ringside area, he got out a whole bunch of weapons: A table, a ladder (which he set up) and then another table. The Animal set one table on top of another in the ring, and then looked back up at the ladder. He had vicious intentions. Undertaker sat up and choked Batista. CHOKESLAM! Undertaker then cleared the ring of all weapons, but not without brutalizing Batista with the ladder.

Now The Phenom was back in it. A "Yeah! Boo!" chant started as Undertaker and The Animal traded blows, but The Demon of Death Valley predictably won and took him down with a flying uppercut. Undertaker threw Batista in the corner and nailed a clothesline. Repeated it. Snake Eyes, and then a Big Boot. The Deadman then got a picture-perfect legdrop to the throat. School was now in session as Undertaker went for Old School. BAM! For being tardy to class, The Animal receives extra pain. Mr. 8-0 sent Batista flying over the ropes, and then successfully landed his Traditional WrestleMania Over-The-Top Rope Suicide Dive. "You're talking about near 300 pounds flying in the air and flattening you!" King said in shock. Cole said the sick part is that Undertaker looks like he cracks his skull any time he does the move. The Phenom put Batista back in the ring, and went for a Tombstone Piledriver, but The Animal countered by kneeing Undertaker in his head, and then hitting a Spear. Batista then got a Spinebuster, shook the ropes repeatedly, and prepared for the Batista Bomb. "THUMBS UP! THUMBS DOWN!" That was what JR said as The Animal nailed the Batista Bomb. BAM! In less than two minutes, Undertaker went from having the advantage to becoming 8-1. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! JR, King, and Cole were genuinely stunned Batista didn't get the cover there. The Animal went for another Spear in the style of Edge, but he crashed into the turnbuckle shoulder-first after Undertaker moved away and ended up being the recipient of a Tombstone. The 18,034 in attendance were convinced the Streak was going to take a ninth soul. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! You could not believe the roar of the Anaheim crowd after that. This was a damn good Street Fight. "You...YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Cole said. "MY GOD, I JUST HAD AN OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE!" JR said, almost frozen after the kickout. Undertaker's face said it all. Desperate to keep The Streak intact, The Demon of Death Valley put the straps down and went for another Tombstone. But The Animal got free and hit the Batista Bomb. Instead of pinning Undertaker, Batista decided to beat the man with as little respect as possible. The Animal went for his own Tombstone, but he was caught red-handed and it was countered. BAM! The Deadman got the two tables and the ladder back in the ring and set it up the way it was. He had an idea. Undertaker took Batista to the top of the ladder-and chokeslammed him through BOTH TABLES! BAM x3! The Phenom got a steel chair, and hit a third Tombstone on the chair. ONE! TWO! THREE! This was a brutal Street Fight. It was a bloody Street Fight. And it was a war of a Street Fight. But tonight, with that ninth victory, Undertaker wins the war. After a minute to collect himself, the lights went out as The Demon of Death Valley did his victory pose. The graphic "9-0" showed up on the screen as pyro went off. Referees were checking on a motionless Batista. "Well, he said he would make history, he said he would beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. But in the end, Batista came up short, like the eight men that have come before him," Cole said. JR said it was an honor to call this match between these two men.

Kevin Eck said, "I always thought that Batista had to look strong in order to make this match a success. Well, he did more than just that. Batista got his WrestleMania moment by taking The Undertaker to the limit." The Deadman walked towards the back when he saw The Animal moving a bit on the screen. Enraged that his job wasn't finished, the Pond cheered as Undertaker stormed to the ring. The referees were threatened as The Phenom took Batista to the 'Mania 2000 stage itself. There was a half-circle shaped ticker which told you what match was going on, and Undertaker put The Animal on top of it. After climbing there himself, The Demon of Death Valley did the throat slash and chokeslammed Batista through the floor. BAM x6! As everyone was stunned, Undertaker got on his knees, raised up his arms, and flames shot up from the spot Batista fell through. In storyline, Batista was sent to Hell by The Phenom. Undertaker rolled his eyes back as the refs called road agents to put out the burning fire. Final result: The Undertaker def. Batista in a Street Fight (Tombstone Piledriver)

NEXT UP: d-champion

Singles Match

World Heavyweight Championship

d-Rob Van Dam vs. Big Show


	11. Rob Van Dam vs Big Show

"No Chance In Hell" played as Vince McMahon made his way to the ring. He surveyed the damage of Batista's fall. The flames were put out by firemen and The Animal was airlifted to Western Medical Center to be treated for (kayfabe) second and third-degree burns, plus a myriad of other injuries. It was time to announce the host of WrestleMania X-Seven next year to the public. On hand was New Orleans Brass general manager Dan Belisle, Minnesota Timberwolves CEO Glen Taylor, Houston Astros CEO Drayton McLane, Jr., and Denver Broncos CEO Pat Bowlen. Although the host city had been named several weeks ago, the other three finalist cities were invited to WrestleMania for representation. Vinny Mac announced after months of bidding, visiting more than 15 cities, and a drawn-out voting process, Houston would play host to the 17th edition of WrestleMania. WWE WAS COMING TO THE ASTRODOME ON APRIL 1, 2001! McMahon raised up McLane's hand as he talked about the joy it was to have WrestleMania come to the Lone Star State. Not only would this be the first WrestleMania held in Texas, it would be the first WrestleMania held in the Southwest region. It was now time for the World Heavyweight Championship match. After the video package, Van Dam came out wearing new attire. His singlet showed a teenager doing the Van Daminator to a bully in a subway car. It's actually a part of WWE's small fight against bullying. In kayfabe, Cole referred to Big Show as the bully in RVD's life. Tazz was back in his WrestleMania best. Tazz said that Van Dam feels as confident and fearless as he's ever been, having spoken to him earlier on at the red carpet show. Speaking of Big Show, the 441-pound giant came out wearing a new blue-and-black singlet, which actually covered his other shoulder for the first time in years. There was also a lot of pyro and explosions as the largest athlete to ever walk the face of the Earth raised up his meaty paw. Tazz said he has rarely ever seen more soulless eyes than Big Show's right now. Cole said he is shocked at how Show could not at least congratulate RVD on winning the Big Gold Belt, and this loss inside the Chamber is eating away at him. SmackDown! Senior Referee Earl Hebner raised up the gold as we were underway here tonight in Anaheim.

Van Dam played the cat-and-mouse game early on, hoping to anger Show enough to the point where his rage costs him the match. Tazz said the key to the match for the World Heavyweight Champion is to keep the giant grounded at all possible times. The last thing RVD wants is to have the challenger get the advantage. Cole said that Big Show is most likely jealous of Van Dam. Not only does the Battle Creek native have the World Heavyweight Championship, he also has a great relationship with the WWE Universe. For the 441-pounder, his first world championship reign ended in an unsatisfactory way. Big Show earned the World Title. He beat Triple H at Armageddon in a hard-fought match for it. Then, inside the Elimination Chamber, and the odds heavily against him, the World's Largest Athlete couldn't get the job done. The catch-me-if-you-can game ended with a vicious headbutt, and now Show was in control. He took RVD to the corner and wailed on him with devastating blows. An excruciating left hand, followed by a deadly right hand, then it repeated and repeated. Cole told the viewers watching WrestleMania on PPV that Van Dam is experiencing first-hand what Big Show's fists are capable of. Tazz said the World Heavyweight Champion has to stay away from the right hand. The same right hand used for the WMD, and the same right hand used to knock out Van Dam in recent weeks. The seven-footer threw RVD halfway across the ring, and landed a Spear. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Tazz said he has no idea how Van Dam could have survived a takedown from The World's Largest Athlete. Big Show hit the Chokeslam on RVD, but that only got a two-count. Enraged, the giant took the World Heavyweight Champion to the outside, where he repeatedly chopped him on the barricade. A note about this match is that this is where the crowd finally became dead. They had been hot all night long (extremely uncommon for a SoCal crowd) but the past three headline matches really took away their energy. "Big Show, you have until ten! Let's go, back in the ring!," Hebner told the challenger. Believing Show had gotten carried away, Hebner was forced to stop the count. The 441-pounder waved Hebner off and went for a headbutt, but Van Dam escaped and kneed the giant in the stomach. RVD went back in the ring at eight, and Show followed him. The World Heavyweight Champion unleashed a flurry of kicks on Show's skull, resulting in a roundhouse that sounded like a firecracker when first heard. "Did you hear the impact of RVD's boot on Big Show's cranium?!" Cole excitedly said. Tazz agreed, stating that he knows the seven-footer did not expect so much ferocity out of Van Dam. The SmackDown! Elimination Chamber winner soon locked Big Show in the Van Crushinator. The giant was flopping around as Cole said RVD could have this won in seconds. Tazz said that in order to escape the Van Crushinator, Show has to remember that one Friday night. The one where Van Dam made him bleed through his nose with that deadly hold. The Tampa native remembered and used his strength to slam Van Dam back-first. What's worse is that RVD ended up feeling the full effect of the giant's frame.

The 441-pounder went for the WMD, and connected. However, the World Heavyweight Champion rolled out of the ring when it struck. Refusing to walk out of Anaheim without the Big Gold Belt, Show gripped Van Dam's skull and put him on the top turnbuckle. The giant then hit a Chokeslam off it, and locked in the Colossal Clutch (cobra clutch backbreaker). Hebner realized RVD was out cold and dropped his hand once. Fifteen seconds passed, and the hand was dropped again. "Big Show could be the new World Heavyweight Champion!," Cole said, trying to contain himself. Fifteen seconds later, and Hebner was about to drop RVD's hand a third and final time.

But Van Dam made a fist. He was still in this match, and the crowd had woken up enough to react thunderously to it. Hebner forced Show to let go, and it was back to the drawing board. The World's Largest Athlete hit another Spear, but it was another two-count. Show went for another Chokeslam, but RVD escaped and dropkicked him in the knee. This left knee was the one Big Show had been favoring for a while. Van Dam hit the Van Daminator, and went for the cover. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! The giant was not going out like that. In response, once Show got up enough to stand on his knees, RVD hit another Van Daminator that legitimately knocked a tooth out of his opponent. One Five-Star Frog Splash later, and the cover was made. ONE! TWO! THREE! In many ways, this was the most hard-hitting of all headline matches so far. Rob Van Dam survived virtually everything Big Show had to offer. Chokeslams, spears, Colossal Clutches, chops, headbutts, fists, even the WMD. But at the end of the day, the World Heavyweight Championship remained with the Van Assassinators. Road agents came to help an unresponsive giant out of the ring. Final result: Rob Van Dam def. the Big Show to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (Five-Star Frog Splash)

NEXT UP: d-champion

Singles Match

WWE Championship

d-John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels-WrestleMania 2000 Main Event


	12. John Cena vs Shawn Michaels

A promo aired for Backlash on April 30. Backstage, Big Show refused help from trainers while Todd Grisham gave an injury report. The World's Largest Athlete suffered a fractured jaw and a broken tooth, to go along with the lost one. Also, Show was tested for a concussion, but displayed no symptoms. Further work will be done on him as the night rolls on into the post-game show (which will be aired on TNN, WWE's official website, Facebook, and Yahoo). Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers were taking the stage for their performance. WWE, seeing how the NFL often attracts big-name musicians for the Super Bowl halftime show, hoped to capitalize on Nick, Joe, and Kevin on all fronts. And boy, did it pay dividends. Although the hardcore WrestleMania crowd booed the brothers at first, that all changed as they went further in. Here is the official setlist:

"Hollywood"/"S.O.S."/"Burnin' Up"/"Paranoid"/"World War III"

Not only did this performance light the crowd up, and also bring in some casual fans, it boosted album sales for _Lines, Vines, and Trying Times_. When it was released on June 16, first-week sales reached over 600,000 records. In fact, 40% of people who bought _Lines, Vines, and Trying Times _were WWE fans. The album was eventually certified 4x Platinum, and won Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 2001 American Music Awards. Anyway, it was time for our main event: The WWE Championship match between champion John Cena and challenger Shawn Michaels. Because this was the WrestleMania main event, Finkel did not announce anything until both men were in the ring. A video package aired about Michaels, from his training under Jose Lothario in the 1980's to his Royal Rumble victory three months ago. To further antagonize Cena, HBK came out wearing a black-and-green vest (covered in green Christian crosses) and chaps (also covered in crosses). Also, before he came out, the DX theme played briefly. JR said in all his years of being in this business, he has never seen better mind games played than by Michaels here tonight. King said that he's worried Michaels' tricks will instead fuel Cena and lead to an easy victory. "Basic Thuganomics" played as a large tank was being driven onto the stage. It was later identified as the official DX Army tank. Cena then came out from the top of the tank wearing an Angels cap backwards and a customized jersey that said "CENA 54" on the back. The WWE Champion had a microphone, and took the time to say a couple rhymes like he used to:

_It's WrestleMania, and a war is in sight_

_And Shawn, I'm gonna whoop your Playgirl ass tonight_

_If you think you can beat me, well that's just hot air_

_Instead, you should think about growing_ _more__ pubic hair_

The decidedly mixed reaction to the WWE Champion turned into a thunderous ovation. At one point, you could even see Milano laughing. Cena went back inside the tank, and after a brief silence, "My Time Is Now" played. The tank was taken backstage where Cena got out of it, and returned with his regular attire on and a game-day look on his face. Michaels had the same face, showing more anger than confidence. Finkel then introduced the two. "The following contest is our WrestleMania main event, set for one fall, and it is for the WWE CHAMPIONSHIP! Introducing the challenger, from San Antonio, Texas, weighing 225 pounds, the Heartbreak Kid, SHAWN MICHAELS! (cheering) And introducing his opponent, from West Newbury, Massachusetts, weighing 251 pounds, he is the WWE Champion, JOHN CENA! (cheering)" JR gave us some statistics regarding WWE Championship matches at WrestleMania. Since The Grandest Stage of Them All's inception sixteen years ago, the title has been defended every year and changed hands seven times. King said that if anything, the fact that history doesn't favor Michaels FAVORS him. Before his Rumble victory in January, the best finish for the #1 entrant was eighth place. And not many wrestling know-it-alls believed HBK would even get to compete for a world championship match after the No Way Out fiasco, much less earn one. RAW Senior Referee Mike Chioda raised up the richest prize in sports-entertainment, then signaled to ring the bell. We were underway here tonight in the main event of WrestleMania.

Michaels continued his mind games by slapping Cena. In response, the WWE Champion tossed HBK into the corner and unloaded with a flurry of strikes. Cena then put in a rear chinlock on Michaels, who was able to counter into a roll-up. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! HBK kicked Cena in his head and then catapulted him into the turnbuckle. Michaels then hit a flying corner crossbody, and went for the moonsault early. The Champ caught him and went for an FU, but HBK turned it into a neckbreaker. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! JR admired the frenetic, back-and-forth pace the match had so early. Michaels trapped Cena in a crossface, but the West Newbury native used his strength to power out and hit a spinout powerbomb. You can't see me! The WWE Champion went for the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, but missed. HBK's attempt at Sweet Chin Music failed, and Cena hit a Fisherman's suplex. The WWE Champion locked Michaels in a bodyscissors, but HBK broke free. Cena hit a legdrop without going to the top turnbuckle, and then a bodyslam. The WWE Champion, slowly running out of options, simply locked Michaels in an abdominal stretch. Although it looked like the Royal Rumble winner would tap, he instead elbowed Cena and landed a series of chops. The crowd roared at every one. Michaels took a page out of Kurt Angle's playbook with a German suplex, but that only got a two-count. HBK took another page and hit three more without letting go. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! HBK went for Sweet Chin Music again, and nearly connected, but The Chain Gang Commander ducked and Chioda received the superkick instead. Cena then hit the FU, and went for the cover, but he didn't realize Chioda was knocked out. Instead of trying to waking him up (which would give Michaels the advantage) the WWE Champion threw Michaels to the outside, hoping to inflict as much damage as possible. Cena threw HBK into the barricade and landed some more punches, then into the steel steps. King stated that the WWE Champion is being more resourceful tonight than he has ever been, and his offense is a lot more aggressive. JR wholeheartedly agreed. Cena went for an FU on the steps, but HBK wiggled free and finally landed Sweet Chin Music. BAM! The back of The Champ's skull connected with the unforgiving steps as Michaels had a vicious idea. He hit Cena with a piledriver on the steps. BAM x2! The 18,034 members of the WWE Universe were stunned at the blood on Cena's head and face. HBK propped the WWE Champion up on the RAW announce table, as JR and King moved out of the way. Michaels climbed the top turnbuckle, and went for another Mr. WrestleMania moment. In 1998, for the World Heavyweight Championship, he landed it on then-champion Triple H. Last year, he landed it on Shane McMahon. The announce table moonsault was HBK's answer to The Undertaker's suicide dive. Michaels went airborne, but Cena stunningly rolled off the table, and HBK's ribs crashed onto it. When the moonsault failed, the announce table tipped over. JR and King were in shock, as both the WWE Champion and his challenger were down. Chioda came to and started counting. Cena got back in at 7, and Michaels ran in at 9 in the nick of time.

Now this contest was back inside the squared circle. Cena had the advantage for the time being, and went to the top for a legdrop on the back of Michaels' neck. He then hit a powerbomb, unusual for his arsenal. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Cena went for a fallaway slam, but HBK turned it into a DDT. Michaels hit a Lou Thesz press, and started wailing on the WWE Champion. Chioda had to get him off. The challenger used one of his old tricks by hitting a Teardrop Suplex. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! Michaels, seeing how much Cena was staying in this, went for Sweet Chin Music again. But the WWE Champion caught his leg and locked in the STFU. HBK was screaming in pain as Cena applied all the pressure he could on it. After what seemed like forever, Michaels grabbed the bottom rope. The West Newbury native did not try for an FU. Instead, he hit two flying shoulderblocks and a spinout powerbomb. You can't see me! The Five-Knuckle Shuffle landed. The FU failed when HBK nailed Cena with his knee. An inverted atomic drop, followed by a flying forearm smash. The kip-up, followed by a diving elbow to the heart. The fans roared as Michaels started tuning up the band. 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! Nope. The Champ hit the FU again. ONE! TWO! KICKOUT! If Cena wasn't going out like that, HBK wouldn't either. The WWE Champion waited for Michaels to get up, and went for another FU. But HBK got loose, and blasted Cena with Sweet Chin Music again. BAM! The cover! The cover! ONE! TWO! THREE! "He did it! He did it! SHAWN MICHAELS DID IT!," said an enthralled JR. "Shawn Michaels has won the WWE Championship!," King said. Yes, he did do that. Nine years of paying his dues and busting his ass culminate in one moment. One WrestleMania moment, at that. Michael Shawn Hickenbottom, better known as Shawn Michaels, is the new WWE Champion. HBK was handed the prestigious gold and legitimately cried as he spun it. Cena put the title around Michaels' waist as The Showstopper said: "You're one tough son of a bitch, John." The Chain Gang Soldier looked at the blood on his hand and realized Michaels was right. The two then shook hands and hugged, and Cena left so HBK could have his moment. Mr. WrestleMania dropped to his knees and said a thank-you prayer to God while pyro went off across the Arrowhead Pond. In a special online Exclusive, camera crews followed Michaels to Disneyland Park, where he was mobbed by employees and WWE fans. At 4:00 pm PST, the park was closed for a private screening of WrestleMania 2000. Also, the WWE Champion was expected to be there. "Sexy Boy" started playing as Michaels was transported to the top of Sleeping Beauty Castle. HBK raised up the WWE Championship while fireworks and pyro lit the park. Final result: Shawn Michaels def. John Cena to win WWE Championship (Sweet Chin Music)

To see how the WWE Title picture is now that Randy Orton is involved, if Big Show is really done with Rob Van Dam, how Hardcore Holly plans to shake his ECW Championship loss, and what's next for others, read my next story, Backlash 2000. I guarantee you will NOT be disappointed!


End file.
